1 Thessalonians 2:5-7

Expanded Bible

⁵ You know that we never ·tried to influence you by saying nice things about you [^Lcame with words of flattery]. ·We were not trying to get your money; we had no selfishness to hide from you [^L…nor with hidden motives of greed]. God ·knows that this is true [^Lis (our) witness]. ⁶ We were not looking for human ·praise [glory], from you or anyone else, ⁷ even though as apostles of Christ we could have ·used our authority over you [thrown our weight around; exercised our prerogatives].

But we were very gentle with you,^[a] like a ·mother [nurse; nursing mother] caring for her [^Lown] little children.